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Politics. Sociology. Nonfiction. HTML:Dr. King�??s best-selling account of the civil rights movement in Birmingham during the spring and summer of 1963 On April 16, 1963, as the violent events of the Birmingham campaign unfolded in the city�??s streets, Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr., composed a letter from his prison cell in response to local religious leaders�?? criticism of the campaign. The resulting piece of extraordinary protest writing, �??Letter from Birmingham Jail,�?� was widely circulated and published in numerous periodicals. After the conclusion of the campaign and the March on Washington for Jobs and Freedom in 1963, King further developed the ideas introduced in the letter in Why We Can�??t Wait, which tells the story of African American activism in the spring and summer of 1963. During this time, Birmingham, Alabama, was perhaps the most racially segregated city in the United States, but the campaign launched by King, Fred Shuttlesworth, and others demonstrated to the world the power of nonviolent direct action. Often applauded as King�??s most incisive and eloquent book, Why We Can�??t Wait recounts the Birmingham campaign in vivid detail, while underscoring why 1963 was such a crucial year for the civil rights movement. Disappointed by the slow pace of school desegregation and civil rights legislation, King observed that by 1963�??during which the country celebrated the one-hundredth anniversary of the Emancipation Proclamation�??Asia and Africa were �??moving with jetlike speed toward gaining political independence but we still creep at a horse-and-buggy pace.�?� King examines the history of the civil rights struggle, noting tasks that future generations must accomplish to bring about full equality, and asserts that African Americans have already waited over three centuries for civil rights and that it is time to be proactive: �??For years now, I have heard the word �??Wait!�?? It rings in the ear of every Negro with piercing familiarity. This �??Wait�?? has almost always meant �??Never.�?? We must come to see, with one of our distinguished jurists, t… (more)
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The book explains why the movement decided to focus on Birmingham, perhaps the most oppressive city in Alabama for minorities, and the strategies of nonviolent protest. Included in the book is the “Letter from Birmingham Jail” which is a reply to clergy in Birmingham who asked for moderation. Dr. King explains why that time was now to change America and moderation was no longer acceptable. The events of 1963 led to political action by Lyndon Johnson and other members of Congress. Dr. King then goes on to explain why affirmative action (as we call it today) is necessary and desirable.
The author and TV host Glen Beck holds Martin Luther King Jr. as one of the great men of the 20th century. Whether you agree with Beck or not, take his advice in reading original source materials from Dr. King himself, not what someone else has written about him. On the subject of civil rights, this book is a good place to start.
Squelching racial bigotry and “Jim Crow” laws was the widely viewed aim of the mission – but Civil Rights are the Basic Rights – Human Rights. These are the rights that so many (including Dr. Martin Luther King Jr.) sacrificed and died to give to all disenfranchised people, everywhere...SMILE!!!